Happily Ever After.

"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord.' and do not do what I say?"

Luke 6:46

My heart breaks over this scripture. Not because I believe I'm not doing as He says to do, though through this study my eyes have viewed some areas in my life that this is the case, but rather for people in this world. It especially breaks for those who call themselves believers. It's amazing to me how so much of the church has this idea that they can have Christ but make up their own rules as it talks about in 1st John. Jesus' words are so crystal clear in most of the passages we read yet, we want to bend them to say something else when he comes off very stern.  Jesus didn't play around with following Him either you did or you didn't. He was so clear that when we as people accept Christ that the road before us is not going to be an easy one. 

"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wise and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it."

Matthew 7:13-14

Jesus paints this beautiful picture in Matthew 7 and my mind immediately jumps to the movie Beauty and the Beast. Yes I know, I'm a nerd but bear with me here. Maurice, Belle's father, is traveling and he comes to a fork in the road he’s faced with a choice many characters in stories are faced with. One way look’s beautiful and easy to travel while the other is dimly lit and dangerous looking. The choice seems obvious right? Well he doesn't choose that path he actually chooses the rough path that no one in their right mind would choose. What the heck was that dude thinking was my instant reaction, which was his horse’s reaction too actually. If you've been lucky enough to see this work of art you would be quick to jump to the conclusion "Yea he took the scary road and look what happened to him! He got taken captive by a beast and if that wasn't bad enough his daughter takes his place and now he has to live without his daughter!" I totally agree with that, yes it looked bad, but have you ever stopped to think that his decision to take the dangerous looking road led to the greatest happiness in not only his life but also his daughters too? Because the man went down the road less traveled it resulted in some hard times, temporary loss, despair, and loneliness among other feelings and circumstance but all that didn't matter when the man got to see what going down that road led to. Spoiler alert the girl falls in love with the beast which breaks the spell of him looking like a beast and they live happily ever after. As stupid and silly as that seems it's a perfect analogy for our walk with the Lord that is spoken about in Matthew 7. 

Jesus is saying don't choose the gate that looks the safest or the easiest because it's going to lead you to destruction. He's calling us not to live this life for ourselves! He's calling us not to live this life by our own rules and to not be captured by our own desires but instead to go through the small gate. The smaller gate might not be as glamorous as the big amazing gate. It's not going to be as easy as the big gate and it's going to stretch you. You’re going to make decisions people are not only going to disagree with but just flat out not understand. The promise for taking this smaller more dangerous road however is Life. Eternal life, with Jesus! This eternal life starts when you understand that He is Lord and you are not. We do get heaven but we are eternal beings right now and if we are on this path our destination is eternity with Him!

This is not an easy topic to write about at all. It beats me up and breaks my heart to know that people I love more than anything else in this world are on the wrong path. It breaks my heart and beats me up to know that some of my youth group kids are on this path and believe that they are on the other. It scares me for them and it drives me to preach the world of God completely and to preach about a complete view of Jesus. 

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord', did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast our demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?"

"And I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me who practice lawlessness.'

Matthew 7:21-23

Jesus isn't playing around with these words. He's looking for people who follow Him not themselves. He is looking for people who are completely surrendered to Him and not themselves. He is looking for people who are led by Him and not by themselves. He is looking for people who follow His rules and not their own! Jesus says these are the characteristics of a believer. It's so easy for us as people to walk around and say we know Jesus because we've HEARD things He said. It's easy to walk around and SAY that I'm a Christian but the only opinion that really matters is if Jesus calls you one. That's the question you need to ask yourself after all of this myself included! Many people can look at what I do and say "yea that's a Christian" but if Jesus doesn't then I should be worried. We can fool many people but I'm not going to be in Hell saying well at least so and so thought I was a Christian. 

Do you understand that Jesus wants your life. He is not going to barter with you or negotiate about what He wants. Look at the Matthew 7:23 "And I will DECLARE to them,". He's not a God that negotiates with you once you’re done here, He's going to tell you. Matthew 10:37-39 sums this up better than I could ever think of doing.

"He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for my sake will find it."

Matthew 10:37-39

Very stern words by Jesus. If you love people more than Me then you’re not worthy of Me because I'm the one that put them in your life in the first place. That's what he's saying about our Parents and Kids and that is tough. The next part is where I think we have the most trouble. He's saying if you value your life more than Me then you’re not worthy of Me. He's saying listen if you’re not willing to pick up your cross and be crucified with Me than your not worthy of Me. If you’re not ready to go with Me and die with Me than you’re not worthy of Me.  Are we ready to do that? Are we ready to call Him Lord knowing what that means? It's by no means an easy road that lay ahead for those who answer Yes but the prize is worth every second of it. The opportunity to be called Son's of God. The opportunity to be called Royal Priests. The opportunity to live this life with the creator of the universe on your side! Romans 8:31 says it this way "If God is for us, then who can be against us," and it’s the idea that the power we have in God makes these problems we have in life seem so much smaller! The greatest gift God has ever given us is Love in the form of His son and what He asks for, is your entire life. That's the happy ending just like in the Beauty and the Beast story I told. It may not always be fun and easy but in the end NO ONE will regret  what they went through, what they gave up, what they sacrificed for God because when we see Him and hear the words "Well done good and faithful servant" and the kingdom of heaven becomes ours everything we went through will be worth it. Every pitfall and hurt will be worth it. Giving up your life will be worth it and as a Christian walking now I can say with confidence it IS worth it.